McDaniel Wins All Star Series Race At Merced Speedway, Weir Beats Big Sport Mod Field For Impressive First Win

Merced, CA...April 15...Reigning All Star Series IMCA Modified champion Ryan McDaniel impressed by leading most of the way in victory Saturday night at Merced Speedway. McDaniel grabbed the lead early from Duane Cleveland with reigning track champion Randy Brown settling into second. Ethan Dotson joined the battle up front and took second from Brown on lap ten. By then, four time Antioch champion Troy Foulger and reigning Watsonville champion Bobby Hogge IV were both running in the Top 5, and Foulger made a move past Brown for third on lap 15. Foulger had problems and faded on lap 18 as Brown was back in third ahead of Hogge. Kellen Chadwick and Robby Sawyer had a spirited duel for fifth in the final laps, but the win went to the impressive McDaniel ahead of Dotson, Brown, Hogge, Sawyer, Chadwick, Paul Stone, Cleveland, Mike Villaneuva and Chris Crompe.

With 48 IMCA Modifieds signed in, they ran two 12 lap B Mains, and Hogge had to win the first one ahead of Sawyer and Brian Cass to get into the feature. The second B Main win went to 2016 Wild West Speedweek champion Chadwick ahead of Stone and recent Chico All Star Series winner Cody Burke. Brown won the first heat ahead of Tim Cecil. The second heat win went to M. Villaneueva ahead of Clay Daly. McDaniel claimed the third heat ahead of Foulger, while reigning Antioch champion Carl Berendsen II was the fourth heat winner ahead of Jeff Decker. Crompe won his eight lapper ahead of Dotson, and Cleveland won the final heat ahead of Austin Burke.

Chuck Weir surprised the crowd with an impressive drive to his first career IMCA Sport Modified Main Event victory as part of Shannon Pump of Merced Night At The Races. Weir had a front row start and led all the way through only two yellow flags in the fast paced event. Anthony Giuliani had second until surrendering the spot to Chase Thomas on lap six. Rookie Guy Ahlwardt grabbed second on lap eight, but he was shuffled out of the Top 5 on lap ten as past Antioch champion Jeremy Hoff gained second. The last ten laps went caution free, and Hoff cut a two second lead to finish right behind Weir at the checkered flag. 2015 State champion Fred Ryland was a solid third ahead of T.J. Etchison, Giuliani, Ahlwardt, Jordan Hagar, reigning champion Rick Diaz, C. Thomas and Phillip Shelby.

There were 30 Sport Modifieds in action, and Marysville star Shelby earned his feature start by winning the B Main ahead of Shane DeVolder and Tim Elias. Hoff won a heat race ahead of Etchison, Giuliani held off Todd Cooper to win the second heat, Ryland charged to victory over Weir in the third nine lapper, Diaz claimed the honors over Paul Espino in the fourth heat and the final heat race victory went to Ahlwardt ahead of C. Thomas.

Kodie Dean picked up his first 20 lap Hobby Stock feature win in nearly two years. A week earlier in Chowchilla, Dean led most of the way before being passed in the final turn and settling for second. This time, he was not going to be denied. Dean set the early pace ahead of Watsonville star Nick Triolo and Shannon Nelson. Reigning champion Michael Shearer settled into third on lap six, but past Watsonvlle champion Billy Nelson shuffled him back to fourth on lap 16. B. Nelson moved by Triolo for second, but he couldn't catch the flying Dean. Triolo settled for third ahead of M. Shearer, another past Watsonville champion William Kennedy, Robbie Loquaci, James Stockton, S. Nelson, Dave Bettencourt and K. Shearer. Dean's heat win came ahead of B. Nelson, and Austin Van Hoff won his heat ahead of Anthony Vigna. Triolo won a photo finish with 2015 champion Kevin Joaquin for his heat win.

D.J. Keldsen returned and won the Mini Stock Main Event. The reigning Watsonville champion won the season opener a couple weeks ago. Keldsen won the heat race, and he followed that up with a feature victory. 2016 point runnerup Paul Lauretti finished second ahead of recent Chowchilla Speedway winner Jennifer Corder. Lucy Falkenberg and reigning champion Chris Corder rounded out the Top 5 finishers.

Racing resumes next week with a special appearance from the BCRA Midgets. The IMCA Sport Modifieds will be back along with the Hobby Stocks and Valley Sportsman divisions. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.

Placerville CA...April 15...The Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Series, presented by Abreu Vineyards, came to Placerville Speedway for their second race ever, and they rocked the house with an incredible night of racing. NASCAR stars Kyle Larson and Rico Abreu came back to California to put on a show, but King Of The West Series champion Kyle Hirst had other ideas. Hirst led the throughout the first half of the race, followed closely by Abreu and Larson, but just past the halfway point of the 40 lap feature, things changed and Larson made a move into the lead. Larson led the rest of the way for the victory. The C&H Veteran Ent. Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event win was collected by defending champion Klint Simpson in impressive fashion.

With over 60 cars on hand for the second event for the Sprint Car Challenge Series, they ran five 10 lap heat races. D.J. Netto claimed the first win ahead of Shane Golobic. Justin Sanders held off Justyn Cox for the second heat race victory, while Kyle Hirst had his hands full holding off Larson for the third heat race win. Reigning Placerville champion Mason Moore won the fourth heat ahead of Chase Madjic, and nine time Civil War Series champion Andy Forsburg won the final heat ahead of Rico Abreu. Andy Gregg won the first 12 lap C Main ahead of Jimmmy Trulli, and the second C Main win went to Shawn Arriaga in front of Michael Ing. Ryan Bernal scored the win in the 15 lap B Main ahead of Kaleb Montgomery and Jake Morgan.

The lineup for the front of the Main Event was set by the two Dash finishes. Rico Abreu won Dash 1 ahead of Larson, while Hirst won Dash 2 ahead of Golobic. Hirst charged into the Main Event lead at the green flag with Abreu and Larson in close pursuit. There were a pair of yellow flags during the first ten laps, but the lead trio remained the same with Golobic in fourth. The complexion of the race changed on lap 18 when Abreu spun going for the lead and collected Golobic. Hirst led Larson and Cox on the restart, but Larson put the moves on Hirst to take the top spot on lap 21. The final 14 laps went caution free, and Larson pulled away to a straightaway advantage by the time the checkered flag waved. Gio Scelzi made an impressive late move around Hirst for second. Sanders was also in the second place battle before settling for fourth ahead of Bernal, Croft, Moore, Cox, Golobic and Sean Becker.

The C&H Veteran Ent. Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint car count grew to 30 cars for this race, and Kalib Henry appeared to be the driver to beat by holding off Simpson to win both his heat race and the Trophy Dash. Chico winner Austin Liggett won his heat in front of Brent Steck, while Shayna Sylvia won the third head ahead of Michael "Buddy" Kofoid. The final heat win went to Casey McClain over Scott Hall. Jake Morgan earned a feature start with his B Main win ahead of reigning Chico champion Angelique Bell and reigning Marysville champion Josh Vieira.Henry's Trophy Dash win gave him the Main Event pole with second place finisher Simpson on the outside. However, Simpson charged into the lead at the drop of the green flag. Liggett ran third behind Henry until a lap six yellow flag. On the restart, Liggett slipped past Henry for second. Another caution flag on lap 10 bunched the field. As Simpson continued to hold command, Henry reclaimed second with McClain settling into third. McClain took second from Henry on a lap 14 resart as Liggett settled back into third. McClain didn't let Simpson get too far ahead, but he wasn't quite able to make the challenge down the stretch. Simpson was the happy winner for the second consecutive race as McClain settled for second ahead of Liggett. Kofoid finished fourth ahead of Henry, Thomas Leuby, Bell, Scott Hall, Steck and Chris Kerr.

The Sprint Car Challenge
Series and Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Tour team up again for a race on
May 27th at Stockton 99 Speedway dirt track, which is the next race for
the Hunt Series. The Sprint Car Challenge will be in Tulare this
Friday, April 21st, and Petaluma Speedway on April 29th. Sprint Car
Challenge news can be found at their official website,
https://www.sprintcarchallengetour.com.

Petaluma, CA...April 15...Some of the local area Sprint Car drivers took off their wings to run a Wingless 360 Sprint Car race Saturday night at Petaluma Speedway. Second generation racer Ryan Timmons paid the track a visit and ended up scoring the victory in the 25 lap Main Event. Timmons won by about half a lap ahead of past Mini Stock champion Kenny Drew. Bill Cornwell was a solid third ahead of long time speedway supporter Norm Johns, Bob Davis and Eli Deshaies. Johns set the fast time of 16.403 on the three-eighth mile adobe oval, besting the 16.715 of Timmons. Johns then barely held off Timmons to win the heat race. Sparky Howard was on hand, but his night ended with mechanical issues in the heat race.

Reinging Lumberjacks Restaraunt Super Stock champion Matt While had a nice battle with Dan Smith all night. After barely beating Smith back to the line to win his heat race, While held off Smith again to collect a well earned 25 lap feature victory. A trio of multi time track champions completed the Top 5 as Steve Studebaker, finished third ahead of Jim "Woody" Woodward and Shawn McCoy. Gary Adams finished sixth as Manny Avilla, Robert Sharp, Michael Drew and Mitch Machado rounded out the Top 10. Machado cruised to victory in his heat race ahead of Avilla.

Reigning two time champion Oreste Gonella won the 25 lap McLea's Tires IMCA Modified Main Event. After winning the heat race with Anthony "The Animal" Slaney right on his bumper, Gonella won the Main Event by just under a straightaway with the "General Lee" of Terry Kaiser finishing second. Rookie Justin Yaeger was third ahead of 2016 Antioch Speedway "Rookie Of The Year" Bobby Montalvo, Slaney and David Spriggs.

Austin Ohlinger is off to an impressive start in the Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks after his second 20 lap feature win. The talented second generation racer won the Main Event by over half a lap ahead of heat race winner Sean Hale. Mike "Squirrely" Curley continued his strong season start with a third place finish ahead of Danny Naron, Samone Chrisman and Dave Spindell. Hale's heat race win came ahead of Spindell.

Tony Soper and David Engstrom battled all night in the Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micro Sprints class. Soper won their heat race with Engstrom following closely behind. Soper continued the trend by holding off Engstrom for a 20 Main Event win. Jim Beck was a solid third as Nick Robfogel just beat heat race winner Danny Potts back to the line for fourth. George Nielson was sixth ahead of Scott McIntosh, Justin Adiego and Amber Fields. A past Mini Stock and Street Stock champion, Potts won a photo finish with Nielson for his heat race win. Rick Alonzo, Chris Sieweke and Dolan McIntosh were all Main Event scraetches.

After two rainouts, the track will again attempt to open the PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint and Wingless Spec Sprint seasons this Saturday night. It's also the first race of the four race Shoot Out Series for both classes, meaning bigger purse money is on the line. Also scheduled to compete are the McLea's Tires IMCA Modifieds, Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks and General Hydroponics Dwarf Cars. For further information, go to http://www.petaluma-speedway.com/.

Tuttle, Lewis, Grenert Grab Dixon Speedway Wins

Dixon, CA...April 14...The USAC Super 600 Micro Sprints co headlined an eciting Friday night of racing at Dixon Speedway. Jacob Tuttle captured the Trophy Dash victory and followed that up with an impressive 25 lap Main Event win. He took the checkered flag by nearly a straightaway ahead of Michael Laughton. Jessica McMannus was third ahead of Kenny Wanderstadt and Kyle Kennedy. Heat race winner Ryan Wiliams was sixth as Billy Sellers, Angela Dempsey, Kinser Kennedy and Rick Alonso completed the Top 10

The USAC Wingless 600 Micros had a strong turnout, and it was the Lewis family leading the pack in the 25 lap Main Event. Heat race winner Kalvin Lewis won the feature ahead of Trophy Dash winner Robbie Lewis. R. Lewis finished just ahead of Clinton Heck in a close battle for second as Michael Sellers and Trent Everett rounded out the Top 5. Norman Harley Rose finished sixth ahead of Cody Gray, heat winner Randy Sims, Tyson Davis and Jeremy Chapman. Spec Sprint veteran Jason McIntosh won his heat race, but he was a Main Event scratch. Heck earned his feature start after winning a close battle with Sellers for the 12 lap B Main win. Gray finished third ahead of Dolan McIntosh and Everett.

Dwarf Cars made a special appearance at Dixon Speedway to run a 30 lap race on the one-fifth mile dirt oval. The drivers were asked if they were interested just a few days earlier, and ten competitors turned out, mostly from the NCDCA Dwarf Car group. Long time Dwarf Car veteran Michael "Spanky" Grenert followed up his heat race win with an impressive feature triumph ahead of two time Antioch champion Danny Wagner. Buddy Olschowka had a good night with wins in the Trophy Dash and his heat race before finishing a solid third ahead of 2016 Petaluma point runner up Miranda Chappa, multi time Sprint Car champion Colby Wiez, Toby Brown, Josh Wiesz, Bobby Johnson, Mark Hanson and Ben Wiesz.

The Merced based California Sharp Mini Late Models brought their four cars to Dixon for what wouuld be their first race in the state. Outlaw Kart veteran Tim Vaught won the heat, dash and 15 lap Main Event with Timmy Crews finishing second in all three races. Brody Armtrout took the wheel of the Robby Jeppesen owned entry and finished third ahead of Ian Shearer.

Chowchilla Speedway announcer Ken Bonnema mentioned that there is a race on Sunday next week, so I did an article for some of the media outlets to spread the word. I'll share it here.

Racing Resumes This Sunday At Chowchilla Speedway

Chowchilla, CA...The next race is set for this Sunday at Chowchilla Speedway. Promoter Joe Diaz Jr. has booked a four division show that will include the A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and 600 Micro Sprints. Furthermore, Diaz has announced a new eight race summer schedule. It will also include dates on May 7th and 21st, June 4th and 18th and July 2nd, 16th and 30th, and these will be the four divisions scheduled for those Sunday events.

Two weeks ago, the A Modifieds and Hobby Stocks were thrilling the crowd with some exciting finishes. Bruce "Bubba" Nelson made a late pass on fourth generation racer Ryan Porter to take the victory in the A Modified feature. Porter just beat past Chowchilla champion Randy Brown back to the line to place second. Nelson has also won in B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks in his career and is a two time Merced Hobby Stock champion. In fact, he won a pair of Hobby Stock races at Chowchilla in 2015. Brown, meanwhile, hails from Chowchilla and is the reigning champion at Merced Speedway.

Brown wasn't the only Chowchilla resident battling for victory last time out. Kodie Dean came within a straightaway of winning the Hobby Stock feature last time. He was passed in the final turn by Placerville champion Nick Baldwin. Dean settled for second ahead of Merced champion Michael Shearer. However, the son of former Chowchilla racer Tim Dean returned to Merced Speedway last week and won that Main Event. Dean and fellow Chowchilla resident Austin Van Hoff are both anticipated on Sunday. Austin had a Top 5 run going last time until a flat tire ended that effort.

The last time out, 2015 champion Fred Ryland raced to the B Modified feature victory ahead of Keith Brown Jr. and Anthony Giuliani. The field also included Mark Condell, who was the only driver competing that day who competed at Chowchilla Speedway when the gates opened back in 2000. Three newcomers have been at both races this year. Jack Aguiar finished fifth last time out. Teen racers Gavin Espino and Kaylin Lopez didn't do as well. However, Gavin, who's father Paul Espino also races B Modifieds, finished third in the first race this year.

In addition to the three popular classes, the track has been trying to establish a Micro Sprint division. Danny Carroll won the first race ahead of Koen Shaw, but it was Shaw winning the most recent race ahead of newcomer Tyler Boyd. The Shaws, Koen and Kyler, both race Winged Sprint Cars as well. We haven't seen Kyler in a Micro Sprint yet, but Gloria Shaw finished third last time out and Brandon Shaw was third at the opener. This is an opportunity for the class to run on a bigger track than the one-fifth mile ovals they usually run on.

The four division show offers racing fans some excitement on a Sunday afternoon. Gates open at 11:00 AM with the first race starting after practice laps at around 1:00 PM. Grandstand admission is $10.00 for adults, $7.00 for seniors and military, $5.00 for children 6-12 and under 6 free. For further information, go to www.chowtown58.wixsite.com/chowchillaspeedway. Chowchilla Speedway InformationSummer Schedule
April 24th
May 7th, 21st
June 4th, 18th
July 2nd, 16th, 30th

Did a special article mainly to see if it could get any play in the media outlets, but I'll share it here. The weekend preview will be released later this week.

Soares Reaches Milestone As Antioch Speedway Promoter

Antioch, CA...When the gates opened for the first race of the season at Antioch Speedway three weeks ago, it marked the 20th year for John Soares Jr. as promoter. Soares took the reigns of the Speedway back in 1998, and he has been keeping the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds racing facility going ever since. Saturday night, Soares is offering up six divisions of racing for the fans to enjoy, and racing will continue almost weekly through the end of September.

Racing has been in his blood since before he could walk. John was raised at various race tracks in California. His father is West Coast Stock Car "Hall Of Fame" member John Soares Sr. The elder Soares promoted races at several venues, including Petaluma and Antioch Speedway. The senior Soares opened Antioch Speedway in 1961 and promoted the track for 20 seasons until walking away to focus on promoting Petaluma for another 20 plus seasons.

John learned from his father. Not only was the elder Soares a respected promoter and track preparation guru, he was also a racing champion. The younger Soares's first title was California Sportsman Division champion in 1969, but he won several other track championships along the way. John also ranks third on the All Time Sportsman Division win list with 20 wins at Antioch. He beat some of Antioch's best ever in highly competitive fields, and he trailed only Gary Pacheco and Dennis Furia in wins. From there, he moved on to NASCAR West Racing and won a race on that circuit as a Top 10 point competitor.

In the 1990's, John started organizing Team USA for a series of winter events at various racing venues in Australia. He maintained four race cars for his teammates, and they would take on he best Australia had to offer in the entertaining country versus country competition. Not surprisingly, he was a champion there as well, but he also began to fine tune his promotional skills. This is where he began thinking about the next stage of his racing career as a promoter. John won the contract for Antioch Speedway prior to the 1998 season, and with his wife Donna at his side, he has remained committed to giving the spectators some of the best racing that the Bay Area has to offer.

Through the years, Soares has promoted some of the biggest Sprint Car and Modified races in the state. This includes a new track record of 58 Sprint Cars for the inaugural Sprint Car Challenge race three weeks go. In his first few seasons as promoter, Soares attracted the biggest car counts in track history on a regular basis. Soares prides himself on providing the fans with a great racing environment. This includes a delicious menu at the two spectator concessions stands. On the track, the All Star Series banner covers everything from the fast Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Late Models all the way to the more racing budget friendly Hobby Stocks. The track will crown eight champions again this year.

This Saturday, the Winged Sprint Cars headline the show, along with the A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars and the Bay Area Hardtops. John and Donna Soares do many things during the week to make sure that everything is ready for a night at the races. It is due to their unseen efforts each week leading up to the races that things flow smoothly on race night. John also handles the track preparation, which means he's on the grater and the water truck during the week to make sure the three-eighth mile clay oval track is just right for the racers. If needed, he'll fix the track during intermission to make it that much better.

Family is the name of the game at Antioch Speedway. The Soares family has promoted the track for 40 of its 56 years of operation, and we see families now three and even four generations strong competing in the various classes. Third generation racer Trevor Clymens is the reigning B Modified champion. Another third generation racer, Mark Garner, will compete in a B Modified this week and is racing for the Limited Late Model championship. His son Billy Garner will make it four generations when he competes in the Hobby Stock class this week. You also have racers such as Sprint Car star Art McCarthy, A Modified legend Scott Busby and Limited Late Model veteran Mike Gustafson who have been racing at Antioch Speedway and other venues for many years.

A night at the races at Antioch Speedway offers something for everybody. You get a variety of different types of race cars, affordable and delicious food at the concessions stands and a fast paced show. Soares likes to keep things moving with the goal of sending the fans home with smiles on their faces after a fun night at the race track. There are lots of big nights planned this year, including three more special Sprint Car races, some big Modified and Late Models shows, the May 13th Larry Damitz Memorial race and more. Gates open at 5:00 PM with the first race starting at 7:00 PM. For further information on Saturday's show, check out www.antiochspeedway.com.